How to say "logistics" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 物流ぶつりゅうnounThe common word for logistics in the sense of physical distribution: getting goods moved, shipped and delivered in business and commerce. For supply-chain and shipping contexts, this is the word you want.
- 兵站へいたんnounLogistics in the military sense: keeping an army supplied in the field — provisions, transport, communications. It is not the word for the business distribution of goods.
- nounThe katakana loanword, used mainly in business and technical writing, often for logistics as a broader management function — planning and coordination, not just transport. Less common than 物流, and often near-interchangeable with it.
- 兵站学へいたんがくnounLogistics as a subject of study: the element 学 makes this the discipline or science of supply — in practice, military logistics — rather than a word for the activity itself.
- nounA shortened form of ロジスティックス that works as industry shorthand; in ordinary writing it is seldom the word you want for 'logistics'.
Use 物流 for the ordinary business sense of distributing goods, 兵站 for military supply, 「ロジスティックス」 as the loanword in business and technical writing, 兵站学 for the academic discipline, and 「ロジ」 only as industry shorthand.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
